LONDON, Sept. 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Asian Pacific countries are increasingly challenging the US and Europe when it comes to attracting and nurturing talent, the first ever Global Talent Index (GTI) reveals.
China will lead the way, building on its natural advantage as the world's most populous country to significantly improve its education system and labor market over the next five years, the index produced by executive search firm Heidrick and Struggles and the Economist Intelligence Unit reveals. It will rise from eighth place on the 30-strong GTI in 2007 to sixth place in 2012, taking over as Asia Pacific's leading country from Australia, which falls from seventh to eighth position.
The GTI shows that the much fabled 'BRIC' (Brazil, Russia, India and China) phenomenon should more accurately be expressed as 'IC' when it comes to talent. While China and India rank among the top 10 talent hotspots worldwide, Russia will fall from sixth to 11th place by 2012, while Brazil will slip from 18th to 19th.
Asia Pacific performs very strongly overall, with Malaysia, South Korea and Japan accompanying China, India and Australia in the top 15 in 2012. India will retain 10th position on the Index, followed by Malaysia, which will remain in 12th place, South Korea, which will rise from 15th to 13th, and Japan (16th to 14th). Thailand will remain in 22nd place and Indonesia will stay at 29th.
South Korea has the best universities and business schools in the Asia Pacific, the Index reveals, while Japan is the highest ranked country in the region for the quality of compulsory education and the quality of environment for nurturing talent. Despite remaining in the same position overall, Thailand's ranking on the mobility and relative openness of the labor market index will fall dramatically, from 13th to 26th place -the biggest single fall by any country on any of the measures.
The GTI is the first survey of its kind to be undertaken. It is aimed at providing businesses with comprehensive evidence of where talent is located across the world currently and will be in five years' time. Thirty countries were chosen for the survey based on a representative geographical spread and the quality of available comparative data.
Gerry Davies, regional managing partner for Asia Pacific at Heidrick and Struggles, said: "China's rise up the rankings shows that the Asia Pacific is beginning to flex its muscles when it comes to developing talent. The strong performances of Australia, India, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan prove that this is happening across the entire region.”
The US will maintain its position as the world's leading country for nurturing and developing talent over the next five years, the survey shows. The UK will rise from fourth to second place in 2012, and will be followed by Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Despite the strong performance of the US overall, its labor market is set to become less open and flexible over the next five years amid fears of terrorism. It will rank 9th worldwide on this measure in 2012 -only one place above China.
Kevin Kelly, CEO of Heidrick and Struggles, said: "Until now, companies may have sensed which countries attracted and developed talent most effectively, but objective data to support their impressions was simply unavailable.
"If talent is the oil of our future, we need to pinpoint the hotspots, identify the reserves and know how fast the pipelines can get up and running. The Global Talent Index will enable us to do this."
The Index is the result of collaboration between Heidrick and Struggles and the Economist Intelligence Unit. It measures each country's potential for producing talent and the conditions necessary to realise this potential. Seven separate measures were used in assessing each country: demographics, quality of compulsory education systems, quality of universities and business schools, quality of the environment to nurture talent, mobility and relative openness of the labour market, trends in foreign direct investment and proclivity to attract talent.
About Heidrick & Struggles
Founded in 1953, Heidrick & Struggles (NASDAQ:HSII), is recognised as one of the world's leading executive search firms. With 61 offices in the principal cities of 32 countries, it helps its clients to address strategic issues that have human capital solutions in times of growth, turnaround, acquisition, integration, expansion into new markets, and when responding to economic flux.
With its executive search, leadership services and interim management capabilities, Heidrick & Struggles can seamlessly integrate a bespoke programme to meet the diverse leadership challenges facing its client organisations. The organisation prides itself on its relationships with, and immediate access to, some of the world's most talented people.
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